New domestic violence laws are signed

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a series of bills aimed at toughening potential penalties and bail requirements for repeat domestic violence law violators.
The bills also enhance training, create a commission to look at the issue of domestic violence and sets in place a high risk team.

Here are the details followed by quotes:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed into law a robust package of legislation that will improve the criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence while at the same time provide survivors with enhanced protections so they can more safely sever ties with their abusers.

The bill package signed by Governor Cuomo addresses the recidivist nature of domestic violence by holding serial offenders more accountable for their behavior with the creation of a new crime and new considerations when determining bail, and creates a state-level Fatality Review Team to find new ways to prevent intimate partner homicides.

“By strengthening the domestic violence laws, New York is leading the way in protecting victims and prosecuting offenders while demonstrating to the nation that we will not tolerate violence against our families,” said Governor Cuomo. “This new law will make it a felony crime for criminals who repeatedly harm their families and ensure that they can are stopped. I thank Majority Leader Skelos, Speaker Silver and the bill sponsors for working with me to make our state safer for all New Yorkers.”

New Felony Crime and Expanded Definition of Aggravated Harassment

The law creates the Class E felony of Aggravated Family Offense, which enables law enforcement to prosecute as felons defendants who commit certain misdemeanor-level offenses and have a previous conviction for a specified misdemeanor or felony against a family or household member within the past five years. It also expands the definition of the Class A misdemeanor of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree to include when a defendant, with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm, causes physical injury to an individual, or to a family or household member of that individual.

Although New York State already has a number of strong domestic violence protections, many domestic violence abusers repeatedly commit low-level offenses, which carry minor penalties, enabling them to continue subjecting their victims to fear and harm.

The aggravated family offense takes effect in 90 days and the aggravated harassment misdemeanor and the bail provision take effect in 60 days. The maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor is one year in local jail; the maximum sentence for a class E felony is up to four years in state prison.

Under the new law, courts will be required for the first time to consider certain risk factors when determining recognizance or bail for a defendant who is charged with an offense against a family or household member.

Currently, courts are not required to consider any special factors when determining recognizance or bail in a domestic violence case, allowing offenders in some cases to go free on low bail and thereby be allowed to stalk, harm and sometimes kill their specifically targeted victims. Under the legislation that was signed today, judges will be required to consider well-established risk factors, such as an offender’s prior violation of an order of protection and the accused’s access to guns.

Under the new law, the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence will establish a statewide domestic violence fatality review team. The review team will bring together domestic violence-related professionals to review domestic violence homicides, in an effort to understand more fully the factors involved and determine how the system can be improved in order to help prevent future deaths. The review team will report periodically to the Governor and the Legislature to assist the State and local communities in improving domestic violence prevention measures. The review team will be established in 180 days.

The package of laws signed today also includes provisions that address non-criminal needs of domestic violence victims, providing them options to sever their relationships with abusers in a variety of ways: enhancing last year’s address confidentiality bill to provide appropriate protections for family members; ensuring that insurance companies, when notified of the domestic violence, do not jeopardize a victim’s safety by disclosing confidential information to the abuser; and preventing abusers who were subject to an order of protection or charged with someone’s death from making funeral or burial arrangement decisions

In addition to targeting domestic violence through stronger legislation, New York State will institute three new programs designed to enhance victim and officer safety, and hold offenders accountable for their crimes: a specialized domestic violence court at the Rikers Island Judicial Center for parolees with a history of domestic violence; a high-risk response team, and free, online training for police officers.

NYC Domestic Violence Court for Parolees

A joint initiative of the New York State Board of Parole and Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the specialized court will serve the five boroughs of New York City beginning this fall. Two Administrative Law Judges will hear domestic violence cases and provide judicial oversight through the parole violation process. In addition, specially trained parole revocation specialists will work with victim advocates and other law enforcement agencies to contact the victim quickly after the incident, develop a safety plan for the victim(s) and coordinate treatment services. The ultimate goal is to provide for the safety of victims, especially children, and to enforce strong offender accountability and monitoring.

High-Risk Team

The multi-disciplinary High Risk Team – composed of a domestic violence advocacy group, the police department, and the department of probation – will use a standard list of risk assessment questions to identify the highest risk cases. The goal of the initiative is to identify high-risk cases at the earliest point possible; develop a system for open communication among team members and make sure it works; contain and monitor the offender; and ensure victim services are easily accessible and comprehensive.

Online Training for Law Enforcement

For the first time, police departments in the state will have access to web-based training on essential topics in domestic violence response, including investigating current and past incidents, collecting evidence, conducting interviews, applying the state’s mandatory arrest and primary physical aggressor provisions, and identifying possible criminal charges; officers are then guided through videos and asked to apply their knowledge to the cases depicted.

Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos said, “This new law builds on our commitment to combat domestic violence and protect innocent victims, which has always been a focus of our Senate Republican conference. Rather than politicize this issue as others have done, we’ve worked cooperatively with the Governor and Assembly to once again show that government can function and deliver on a critically important issue. I applaud the Governor for his leadership and commend Senator Saland for helping us achieve a strong result that will save lives.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, “These measures represent a crucial step towards ending the cycle of abuse caused by domestic violence. I applaud the Governor for his actions to protect and empower victims, and prevent future tragedy. Domestic violence impacts all, regardless of age, race, gender and economic status, and it is our sincere hope that these new laws reduce the hundreds of thousands of domestic violence incidents reported in New York every year.”

Domestic violence is a problem of enormous prevalence and impact in both New York State and across the nation. It has been identified by the U.S. Surgeon General as the number one health problem affecting American women, and it floods the justice system of New York State as well as the courts of every other state in the nation.

Senator Steve Saland said, “Not since 1994, when I fought for the mandatory arrest policy for situations involving domestic violence, have we made such significant progress for those who are abused by an intimate partner or family member. This was a collaborative effort and I genuinely believe that by putting this new law in place, we are making our State a safer place for many who live in fear. Today, with the Governor’s signature, their voices have been heard.”

Senator Martin J. Golden, a former New York City Police Officer stated, “I commend Governor Andrew Cuomo for signing into law this life saving legislation that establishes better protections for victims of domestic violence, abuse and harassment. Our society will not tolerate hateful acts and this new law continues our New York’s long standing tradition of protecting our citizens. No one in the Empire State should have to live under the threat of violence and fear.”

Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair Helene Weinstein said, “With an estimated 450,000 domestic violence incidents reported to law enforcement in New York each year, domestic violence is an ongoing crisis. I applaud the Governor for signing this truly comprehensive legislation which provides significant protections for victims of domestic violence and further penalizes abusers.”

Chair of the Assembly Codes Committee Joseph R. Lentol said, “Victims of domestic violence deserve and require access to comprehensive services to help them handle the physical and psychological impact of this category of crime. Strengthening New York law to protect victims through confidentiality, while simultaneously providing them a social service support system, is a top priority of mine. By signing this legislation into law, Governor Cuomo reinforces and expands New York’s commitment to protecting victims of domestic violence.”

Manhattan District Attorney and President of the New York District Attorneys Association of the State of New York Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., said: “I thank Governor Cuomo for signing the Domestic Violence law, which gives prosecutors a critically important tool to better protect victims of domestic violence. This legislation addresses one of the underlying problems of domestic violence – the ability of offenders to abuse their victims again and again without serious consequences. And too often, we see domestic violence cases turn deadly. This new law, in part, creates a new class E felony, Aggravated Family Offense, for repeat abusers, and will help victims escape violence and return to a place of safety. The Aggravated Family Offense bill was the result of a partnership that my Office undertook with the Governor, the Senate, the Assembly, and domestic violence advocates throughout the state. I thank them for their strong support and tireless efforts.”

District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr., said, “These bills Governor Cuomo and the Legislature have enacted represent a great step forward in our ongoing battle against domestic abuse. They will give us the ability to push for harsher penalties for “serial abusers” – something which my colleagues and I have sought for many years – while providing much-needed protection for victims and more discretion for judges to keep abusers away from them.”

Research shows that domestic violence offenders most often recidivate against the same victims (70 – 80 percent), and that those in an intimate relationship are more likely to re-offend than those who commit crimes in “other” family relationships. In addition, offenders released without bail had a higher pre-trial recidivism rate than those released on bail, as did those charged with violating an order of protection.